Book Censorship in Australia

A self-published author faces legal action if he keeps distributing graphic books on incest before the federal classification board reviews them. But he may escape prosecution for mailing the books to the 500 libraries throughout Australia.

Charles Kevin, 82, bypassed classification laws to distribute Sibling Love and Bet and Zak. The books contain graphic descriptions of sex between brothers and sisters and a mother and her son.

More than a dozen public libraries which had the books in general circulation, have since pulled them off their shelves.

Kevin, also known as Charles or Zoltan Kovacs, sees nothing shameful in incest and sought as wide an audience as possible for works he admitted were perverted. He welcomed efforts to ban the books, saying it was would only lift his profile.

Federal authorities now want Kevin and his home publishing business Anthos, to submit copies of the book to the classification board. Kevin's failure to do so, and any subsequent distribution of the books, could result in fines and jail. But the State Government, which enforces classification violations, said he would not face prosecution for the previous distribution of the books or for failing to submit them for classification.

The Film Classification Board has banned the two books that caught press attention for their incest storylines and availability in public libraries:

• Bet and Zak by Charles Kevin (2006 Anthos Publishing)
• Sibling Love by Charles Kevin (2007 Anthos Publishing)

Sibling Love is a series of vignettes concerning sex between brother-sister. Whilst Bet and Zak describes sex between mother and son.

Charles Kevin, an 82 year old author had sent 530 copies of the books to libraries around Australia.